Leo Bacarella:
CLASS OF 1971
Oak Ridge High SchoolClass of 1971
Oak ridge, TN
Leo's Story
Leo is from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Leo's schools include Oak Ridge High School.
Music Leo likes includes Jeff Beck, That's What I Say: John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles, Julian Bream. Books Leo likes include Bible Nkjv, ESV Study Bible. Movies Leo likes include The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Official Page), Apocalypto, Galaxy Quest. TV shows Leo likes include Fringe, NCIS, The Unit.
One of Leo's favorite quotes is:""I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) ESV".
More about Leo:"On October 23, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, a truck bomber from the Islamic Jihad, a nom de guerre for Hezbollah, attacked the Marine barracks, killing 241 American servicemen (Marines, Sailors, Soldiers). This distressed me so much that I began the process of joining the U.S. military. Navy recruiters wanted me in their nuclear program but advised me not to admit I had experimented with a particular recreational drug. I couldn't see the point of lying so I was a "no go" for the Navy. A little over a year later I joined the Army as a Flight Operations Coordinator, (93P). Some of the other training I enjoyed was Air Assault School; Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare School; Arctic Cold Weather Survival School, Aquatic Life Saving School, and the first in the Leadership Training School series, PLDC. For fun I trained to drive trucks on ice, and was recruited into a truck rodeo.
Ironically, my first assignment was as a guitar player for the Commanding General's unauthorized dance band, 172'nd Infantry Brigade, Fort Richardson, Alaska, which soon afterward became the 6'th Infantry Division. I stayed with the band a few months then transferred back to Aviation, flight operations.
In the middle of my enlistment, I was offered a job working with the DEA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, operating out of Miami,...Expand for more
Florida. That would have been a hoot. From a long haired hippie freak to a U.S. soldier working with the DEA tracking drug smugglers. In 1989 I left the Army to study Audio Engineering and Recording Industry Management at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN.
I'm sure most everyone who knew me as a teenager would never have imagined I would become a soldier. It was in response to the deaths of all those guys who had put their lives on the line for us. My draft number was high during the last days of Vietnam so I skated on that one, but I saw the reports every day of how many were killed in action. It all seemed to click in after Beirut. Perhaps more of an emotional response than a rational one. What was I going to do about Hezbollah? I served four years active duty, two years reserve and don't regret it.
I raised my hand and was sworn in as a soldier in the United States Army on 3 July 1985; I left on 2 July 1989 from Fort Richardson Alaska.
I was part of a very big build up of the U.S. Military during the Regan era. I do believe that this build up was instrumental in reshaping the political structure of Eastern Europe/ Soviet Union. The Soviets couldn't keep up financially or at least they decided to take a temporary break from the race, the Cold War.
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" 12 June 1987 President Ronald Reagan. I left the Army 2 July 1989. From 9 to 11 November 1989 the Berlin Wall was torn down. The Communists took a break and changed tactics leaving the U.S. and her allies to police the world.
What can I say about Afghanistan? We trained fighters, supplied Stinger shoulder fired rockets and funneled 3 to 20 billion U.S. dollars to the Mujahideen in their fight against the Soviets. It seems we've traded places. I've said enough. I'm too ignorant and not nearly smart enough to figure this one out.".
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